


And the Souls Intertwine

by Risingstorm15



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst, Bullying, But He Gets Better, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Everyone Is Gay, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, M/M, Multi, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Verbal Humiliation, but now he's like super hot, formerly chubby Takeda, jerk Ukai, takeda is just so pure
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-01
Updated: 2020-04-13
Packaged: 2021-03-01 00:46:47
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,440
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23426461
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Risingstorm15/pseuds/Risingstorm15
Summary: Ukai Keishin made a lot of mistakes in high-school, but maybe the worst of them all was ruining the life of an adorably shy Takeda Ittetsu.Or the soulmate au where Keishin stuffs up and learns to pay for his mistakes as the karasuno team we know and love rallies behind their beloved sensei.
Relationships: Akaashi Keiji/Bokuto Koutarou, Hinata Shouyou/Kageyama Tobio, Kozume Kenma/Kuroo Tetsurou, Sawamura Daichi/Sugawara Koushi, Takeda Ittetsu/Ukai Keishin, Tsukishima Kei/Yamaguchi Tadashi
Comments: 3
Kudos: 254





	1. Keishin is a jerk

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys, so here's my first attempt at a Haikyuu fic. I am not Japanese so if I get stuff wrong please don't hate on me, I'll try to do my best though. For those of you who are wondering, yes I will be adding to my BTS fics, this little gem just popped in to my head because I'm currently fangirling so hard over Haikyuu.
> 
> On an alternate note, was I the only one who thinks Takeda gives me Yuuri (Yuri on ice) vibes, because I swear...

Yukai Keishin was the envy of Karasuno.  
Young, athletic, handsome and with a famous grandfather to sweeten the deal meant that girls and boys fawned over him despite his average grades. At any point in the day anyone who looked over at Keishin would often notice him looking at his soulmark with a gentle smile of his lips.  
And who wouldn’t if they had words like his?  
‘I think you’re perfect’ scrawled in black cursive twirled up his toned forearm to disappear behind the rolled up sleeves of his uniform.  
Though many of his admirers attempted to say his words and claim the athletic third-year as their soulmate the words never changed colour and nor did Keishin feel the tell-tale stirrings of connection in his heart.

The day Keishin made one of his biggest mistakes was like most other days.  
He would wake up early and help his ma clean the store before heading to school where he would struggle through mind-numbing classes until practice. Practice would inevitably cause his spirits to soar with excitement as he set multiple balls to the spikers and saw their triumphant smiles as they hit home with perfect accuracy.  
As was their tradition, the end of practice led to them jogging down to his ma’s store for a food and a laugh, only this time not everyone would be laughing.  
‘Dude, that last spike was perfect man,’ Sakatani exclaimed loudly as he smacked Hina solidly on the back.  
‘Thanks man, but I couldn’t have done it without Keishin’s set. It was like the ball came straight to my hand, I guess our accuracy is getting better,’ Hina replied after he had regained his breath.  
Grinning at the compliment from his teammate, Keishin held open the door for them to file past into the blessedly cool air-conditioning. As he followed Hina and the others to the aisles he was confused to find them staring around the corner at another customer with conspiratorial smirks.  
‘Hey guys, what’s up?’ he inquired.  
‘Oh nothing, it’s just Takeda being clumsy again. That four-eyed dork is such a nuisance,’ Rokan answered with a dramatic sigh.  
Peering around the aisle, Keishin watched as the tiny third year vainly attempted to gather up the cans he had knocked off of their shelf before they rolled away. Their classmate was red with embarrassment, his rotund body squatting awkwardly as he tried to fix his mistake.  
‘Ugh, that fat pig is so useless, he can’t go anywhere without messing up,’ Hina agreed with a laugh.  
The rest of the team chuckled loudly at the comment, knowing full well that Takeda had heard them by the reddening of his large ears.  
‘And to think he wanted to join the volleyball team!’  
‘I know right, he barely even see his feet over his stomach let alone run laps!’  
‘waste of space’  
‘little piggy’  
As the insults reigned loudly in the store Keishin, fuelled by the atmosphere of his team and having eyes only for the cans which he had so perfectly stacked this morning rolling around on the aisle floor, stalked towards the flustered boy.  
Towering over him with his tall stature and a murderous glare, Keishin felt his rage exploding over.  
‘YOU IDIOT! You can’t do anything right, can you piggy?’  
Takeda stared up at him with startled doe eyes but even his stutterings of   
‘I-I’m s-sorry’ could stop Keishin in his rage.  
‘You just had to make a mess of my ma’s store when she already has so much work to do, didn’t you? You’re so fucking useless Takeda,’ he snarled.  
Whimpering lowly, Takeda tried to flinch away from his rage, inadvertently drawing up his sleeve and causing his soulmark to flash at everyone.  
Reading the mark in a split second Keishin felt his anger changing direction.  
‘Huh, even your soulmate thinks your flabby body is disgusting, just get out of here before your ugliness wares off on us!’  
Dead silence reigned for a second before Takeda stood slowly, his terrified eyes never leaving Keishin’s thunderous face before he was sprinting out of the store with a sob echoing in his wake.  
‘Damn Keishin…don’t ever let me get on your bad side,’ Hina laughed, breaking the silence.  
Immediately the store was filled with the laughter of his teammates.  
‘Good job man’  
‘Totally deserved it’  
‘stupid fatty’  
Whilst his team revelled, none noticed the quiet form of Mrs Ukai sympathetically watching Takeda’s panicked form tripping over his own two feet in his haste to rush away. With a tear running down her cheek she felt, maybe for the first time, a stirring of disappointment in her own son.

If Takeda Ittetsu spent his months following his humiliation cast out by the society of Karasuno high then no one cared.  
Nor did they notice when Takeda’s round body slowly faded to a starved a painfully thin appearance due to many meals thrown up in the school bathroom. Or when he failed to hide the bruises from his bullies and father alike who felt they had an open season on the painfully shy boy who cowered from their sneering laughter.  
And on graduation day, when teachers shared a sympathetic sigh for the boy who was awarded highest honours but was booed off stage, no one shed a tear for the boy they would forget ever existed and the horrid words scrawled all over his arms to attest to his shame.


	2. Ukai...your crush is showing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry for the wait everyone! I actually had this chapter written a while ago but I realised that I hadn't update yet. Anyways, more to come since there's nothing better to do in isolation that write. Also yes, all my characters are acting a little OOC but enjoy anyway.

Ukai Keishin had changed significantly since high school.

Without being the key player of the volleyball team, he found his cocky attitude had lessened significantly to leave him with a hardworking and hopeful outlook. All through high school he had waited for his soulmate to utter the words which would entwine their destinies forever, but as the years went by and his words went unsaid, he found it harder and harder to imagine himself living a happy life with his partner.

His job paid relatively well, he had a loving family and good friends that he occasionally met up with for some drinks and a laugh, and now apparently, he had a volleyball team.

He hadn’t known what urged him to accept the email from the volleyball club advisor of Karasuno high, maybe it was loyalty to his old team? Whatever the reasons, Keishin soon found himself standing in the doorway of the school gym watching as his new team trained under their captain’s watchful eye.

Having introduced themselves when he had first appeared awkwardly in the doorway, he had set them to practicing their receives, having noticed from the videos he was sent from the elusive advisor that they fumbled the ball more times than they successfully received it.

The sound of running footsteps thrust him out of his musings as a young man rushed in to the gym, a clipboard clutched tightly in his pale hands.

‘Sorry! I got caught up with another faculty member,’ he apologised, skidding to a halt.

Keishin knew he should reply to the advisor but the moment he laid eyes on the man his brain lost all ability to focus.

Slightly out of breath, the stranger caught his gaze with a huge pair of brown doe eyes, his dark curls ruffled slightly by the wind. Despite the tracksuit he wore it was obvious that his body was incredibly fit and graceful, and those calves…wow.

‘Hello, you must be Ukai Keishin,’ the advisor greeted with a bow.

‘y-yeah I am’ he managed to reply.

‘Sensei Takeda! Will you be spiking for our receives today?’ Sugawara interrupted excitedly.

Flashing his student a dazzling smile the advisor replied, ‘sorry Suga, maybe next week. Today we’ll see what the coach wants you to do’.

Keishin had a distinct feeling that he should recognise the name, but for some reason it seemed to slip from his mind the moment he got close to recognising the advisor.

‘Oh, well they’re working on receives at the moment so if you wanted to spike for them I’ll set for you. I am out of practice though,’ Keishin mumbled.

‘Sure! Okay guys, line up and receive,’ he added in a shout to the team.

Watching Takeda spike was like watching a bird in flight. Effortless and majestic.

His smaller frame and lithe size meant his springs in to the air were amazingly graceful as he slammed ball after ball for the receivers. No matter how high Keishin set the ball, Takeda always leapt to reach it, providing a touch challenge for the team’s receiving skills.

Calling a halt to their current practice, Keishin approached the smaller man as he stopped to drink some water.

‘Your spikes were fantastic! Did you play in high school?’

Takeda’s surprised eyes seemed to pin him in place for a moment before the advisor laughed cheerily.

‘No, I wasn’t on the team in high school, I was in literature club instead. It’s a good thing I was too since I now teach literature here when I’m not advising clubs,’ Takeda replied easily, though Keishin was slightly puzzled by the slight hint of bitterness in his tone.

He couldn’t deny however, that the bright laughter of the advisor didn’t do things to his thumping heartrate. 

‘You were the setter though, I’ve seen your pictures in the trophy cabinets with the past teams! That’s partly why I called you to coach the boys, I knew you’d understand their drive to win better than some of the older coaches around,’ he added.

Blushing at his compliment and faith in his skills, Keishin found himself yet again tongue tied in the face of the adorable man smiling up at him so sweetly.  
Thankfully he was saved by a loud argument breaking out with two of the first years, Kageyama and Hinata.

Bowing apologetically to the advisor Keishin quickly sprinted off to break up the verbal sparring match, the mischievous dark eyes following his every move.


	3. Ukai realises just how much he stuffed up

A month after his induction as coach of the Karasuno Boys Volleyball Team, Keishin found himself no less infatuated with Takeda than ever.

And no closer to catching a date with the adorable advisor either.

He had learned many things by watching the young sensei. For one thing, his thighs could rival a marble statue in perfection (Keishin had never set so many failed balls in that particular session, after all, whose eyes wouldn’t wander to that sight?). Apparently Takeda had managed to find a pair of contact lenses for practice after one of Hinata and Kageyama’s quick attacks had smacked him in the face, and his contacts only made his huge brown eyes sparkle brighter.

So, in short, Keishin was obsessed.

And it hurt him to admit that his smooth-talking high school days were over, and his ability to sweet talk a crush had diminished greatly. He was lucky if he even managed a full conversation without tripping over his own tongue in the presence of such innocent Bambi eyes.

Take his current situation, for example.

The team had a practice game with Nekoma organised for the weekend and had elected to split up and practice against each other. Unfortunately that meant that Keishin and Takeda were left alone on the side of the court to comment on the game. Except the game was the least thing on his mind as the small advisor had decided to plant himself directly at his side, so close that they brushed shoulders and hands on more than one occasion. 

‘Do you think we can win?’

‘What?’ Keishin asked, shaking out of his stupor.

‘I asked, do you think we can win? You know, against Nekoma?’ Takeda repeated, blinking curiously up at him.

Swallowing nervously, Keishin gestured to the volley the team was currently achieving.

‘I think they’ve got skill, and they’ve got passion. If we train hard enough we can beat anyone, Nekoma included’ he replied.

Grinning brightly, Takeda refocussed on the game and a comfortable silence settled over the two of them, only broken by the occasional tip shouted by Keishin to the team.

‘You know, you’re really good at coaching. The team really looks up to you,’ Takeda murmured sometimes later.

Feeling his cheeks heat up with a blush at the comment, Keishin’s thoughts raced for a reply.

‘Well, you’re not so bad yourself. Your spikes are fantastic for someone who only started playing after high school. If we were back in school my grandfather would have signed you on to the team in a heartbeat,’ Keishin managed to reply.

A pained expression flashed briefly across Takeda’s face before the advisor managed to comment in a far more subdued tone.

‘I doubt that…’

‘My grandfather was a great coach, he could take a player at any level of skill and train them till they excelled. We were never as good a team as when he was the coach,’ Keishin muttered to break the awkward silence that had fallen over them.

He was startled a moment later when Takeda moved to face him head on, a determined pout plastered on his full lips.

‘Nonsense, I think you’re perfect’.

And just like that Keishin’s world imploded.

Staring with shocked eyes at the young teacher, he hurriedly pulled off his jacket and the two of them watched in wonder his soulmark glowed brightly. Those words that had remained black for so long came alive at the voice of his soulmate who was now trembling wildly.

‘I- I’ve waited so long for you…’ Keishin managed shakily.

Expecting to see a happy smile on Takeda’s face since they had become so close recently, he was shocked to see the advisor’s eyes welling with tears.

‘Takeda, what’s wrong?’

His soulmate just shook his head a final time before tearing away in a dead sprint. 

Technically it was wrong of Keishin to just run out of practice, but a glimpse of an understanding Daichi enabled him to take off after Takeda without a second thought.

He had to pause momentarily as he tried to catch a glimpse of where his soulmate had gone, before spotting him streaking towards the school entrance.

With his heart pounding with adrenaline, Keishin tore off after his beloved, longer limbs eating up the dirt far quicker than Takeda’s were. 

Putting on a burst of speed, he noticed with a dawning sense of horror, that due to the tears clouding his eyes, Takeda was not aware that his next few steps would lead him directly on to the road and in to the path of the oncoming cars.

With one desperate lunge, Keishin was snagging the collar of his soulmate’s jacket and the two tumbled on to the sidewalk just as a truck went screaming past.  
Their tumble had led to Keishin being poised atop of a shocked Takeda whose glasses were askew on his nose as wild eyes took in what would have been his deadly fate.

In those moments of relief, Keishin found himself glancing to check for injuries, only to spy the swirling words on Takeda’s forearm which previously had always been covered by long sleeved jackets or shirts.

‘You can’t do anything right, can you piggy?’

A sudden flash of realisation brought him back several years to a sunny afternoon when those same startled eyes and shameful words had been flashed his way. And with a sinking heart Keishin finally realised where he had heard the name Takeda before.

‘Oh Ittetsu, what have I done?’


	4. Takeda shares his tale

Many years ago Takeda was the kindest and most loving teenager in Miyagi.

While you could say he still embodied those qualities as an adult the sparkle that used to gleam in his eyes was never quite as bright after a certain event.  
16 year-old Takeda Ittetsu had a miserable life. His family thought him a failure and a sorry excuse for a son since he wasn’t as athletic or confident as his older brothers. 

He had no friends since the entire school bullied him daily for his weight and shy demeanour. 

Indeed, the only souls who showed him any kindness were his teachers (who thought he was an angel since he truly did love learning) and Mrs Ukai who owned the general store. Whenever he was thrown out of the house in the morning with a list in his hands and a demand that he get the groceries and be back by sunset, he would quietly make his way to the checkout after school. Mrs Ukai would ask him how his day was going, whether he did well in his last test, whether he had made any friends yet, or which book he was reading lately. 

It didn’t matter that he didn’t have anything interesting to say and stammered through his answers with a blush of embarrassment, Mrs Ukai was genuine and kind and treated him better than anyone ever had.

So if the tiny woman had a bit of trouble stacking cans and cooking dinner at the same time Takeda was happy to help.

‘Are you sure? You must have homework to do and my son will be home soon. I can’t believe that people bought out all those cans, Ukai just stacked them this morning!’ she huffed with a flustered air.

‘Of course I can stack a few cans, it’s no trouble at all,’ he replied softly.

Giving him a small hug of appreciation she hustled up to the living quarters above the store, a cry of ‘bless you dear’ trailing behind her.

So he set about stacking cans on the shelf, arranging them neatly in their rows as he hummed a small tune he had recently heard on the radio. He was so absorbed in his work that the tinkling of the bell as someone entered the shop startled him. His flinch caused some of the cans to topple from his arms and he quickly dropped to the floor to gather them back up, a fierce blush on his face.

From where he was crouched he could see that it was Ukai and the other volleyball players who had entered, likely to eat after their practice. The arrival of the popular Ukai Keishin had him blushing more furiously.

Ever since he could remember Takeda had sported an astronomical crush on Ukai. Having grown up in the same neighbourhood and attending the same schools he had watched the laughing boy transition in to a handsome young teen, and even further in to a muscled, athletic setter. 

Takeda had long resigned himself to loving Ukai from a distance, his heart pounding whilst he peaked at the team’s practices and saw Ukai performing a perfect set time and time again.

Thrust from his musing by their loud voices Takeda found himself listening to them as he pulled together the final fallen cans.

‘Hey guys what’s up?’ oh, that would be that deep voice he loved so much.

‘Oh nothing, it’s just Takeda being clumsy again. That four-eyed dork is such a nuisance’

Immediately realising who they meant Takeda felt his heart sink in his chest. During school he managed to try and ignore their comments, to keep a brave face, but outside of school he found the insecurities screaming louder in his mind.

‘Ugh, that fat pig is so useless, he can’t go anywhere without messing up,’

‘And to think he wanted to join the volleyball team!’

‘I know right, he barely even see his feet over his stomach let alone run laps!’

‘waste of space’

‘little piggy’

The comments being made by the team caused tears to well in his eyes, and it was taking all his strength to keep them at bay. Already his glasses were fogging up slightly.

Every word was a knife to his heart. Please, why am I not enough? What did I do to deserve this? I’ve tried to be good but all I can be is a failure.

‘YOU IDIOT! You can’t do anything right, can you piggy?’

Immediately his heart felt as though it just stopped and his breath left him as he recognised that beautiful voice addressing him. The words he had always struggled to hide on his forearm burned as they activated.

A tiny thread of joy that he had found his soulmate fluttered in his heart befre ebing stamped out by the look of murder on Ukai’s face.

Awkwardly turning, still on his knees he found himself staring in to the cold eyes of his life-long crush. Furiously battling tears Takeda managed to meet Ukai’s glare.  
While Ukai never stood up for him he had never attacked him either, though today seemed to be a day of firsts for both of them.

‘I-I’m s-sorry’ Takeda managed to stammer out against the pure rage emanating around the store.

‘You just had to make a mess of my ma’s store when she already has so much work to do, didn’t you? You’re so fucking useless Takeda,’

Please, I just want you to love me, for someone to love me. I want to tell you, to tell everyone that you just said my words, the love of my life said my words! But you don’t understand that behind all of my ugly body and stupid looks I think I might be beautiful.

Having flinched away from Ukai’s anger his soulmark flashed for all to see.

‘Huh, even your soulmate thinks your flabby body is disgusting, just get out of here before your ugliness wares off on us!’

It was as though he was numb.

He saw my mark, I know he did! He saw that he had said my words and he still chose to be cruel…I should hate him, scream the injustice, but despite what you just said to me I still love you… And if I care that much then how could I be ugly?

With a heavy heart and the knowledge that Ukai was disgusted by him, despite their soulmate status, Takeda sprinted out of the store with the tears finally falling unbidden down his cheeks and knowing once and for all that he wasn’t enough.

Takeda tried, he really did.

Maybe it was the vain hope that if he got high enough grades, if he showed a kind heart and if he lost enough weight maybe he would be good enough. Maybe Ukai would finally notice that he was making an effort to change.

He never did.

In fact, Ukai spent the rest of high-school climbing higher and higher on the social ladder, and forgetting all about the doe-eyed teen who loved him more than his own life.

And while he soared higher Takeda sunk lower in to his own self-hatred until one fateful night he even considered ending it all.

It was a cold night and he found himself staring at the long drop to the river, a strange numbness flowing over his body.

Earlier that day he had been told he would graduate with the highest honours and had walked up on stage with a smile brighter than the sun, feeling joy for the first time in months at his success.

He will notice me now, he has to! I’m thin now, my grades are good, I’ve been trying to get fit, maybe he’ll finally see how far I’ve come for him.  
Shaking the hand of the principal he glanced quickly out at the crowd only to find a sea of booing faces and cruel laughter, and Ukai Keishin sitting in the middle of the crowd laughing along with them.

And so, as he stared numbly out at the sheer drop, his graduation certificate clutched in trembling hands, Takeda placed his foot in the first rung of the bridge’s fencing.

It wasn’t until a cold gust of wind hit him that he realised exactly what he was doing and reeled backwards with a cry of shock.

What am I doing? I can’t do this! I can’t keep living this way. If Ukai won’t have me then I will just have to love myself enough for both of us.

It wasn’t easy. In fact it was up there with the hardest things he ever did.

Takeda slowly managed to find the things that he loved about himself and nurture them until they blossomed in to a teaching degree from a prestigious college, a placement at his old high-school where he could help kids who were struggling, and a team of mismatched but loveable volley-ball players.

And as he soared through the air and slammed spike after spike for his students to practice receives, Takeda found that those voices of old just slowly melted away until they only occupied a tiny corner of his mind.

And so he found himself huddled on the freezing sidewalk with the man of his dreams crying silently beside him, a silence cast between them that was no longer comfortable.

‘You didn’t recognise me, did you?’ Takeda whispered quietly.

A slight sniffle, ‘no, I didn’t’.

‘Would you have grown so close to me, loved me, if you had realised who I was from the start?’

Another silence.

‘I think I eventually would have’.

‘I didn’t tell you who I was that first day because I thought you knew. And when you didn’t realise I decided not to say anything. It felt nice, to speak to you and love you like I always dreamed of doing since the first time I saw you running around outside your mother’s store,’ Takeda managed to explain.

‘I can’t tell you how sorry I am that I ever said those things,’ Keishin whispered, turning to grasp Takeda’s trembling hands in his own larger palms.

‘You weren’t sorry then. You weren’t sorry when I starved myself to get rid of that ‘ugliness’ you hated. You weren’t sorry when I did everything I could to make you proud. You weren’t sorry when you laughed and booed me off stage when I received the highest honour of my life. You weren’t sorry when I almost ended it all. So why are you suddenly sorry now?’

Keishin’s tears should have felt like victory but to Takeda they only caused a bout of sympathy to rip through his chest.

‘Because I love you dammit! I fell in love with you when I first walked through those gym doors!’ he sobbed.

Takeda couldn’t bring himself to smile at the love he finally felt.

‘You loved the improved me. But if you couldn’t love me when I was the vulnerable child that only wanted a friend then you can’t say that you love me now. It’s either all of me or none’.

‘So where does that leave us?’

‘We’re going to introduce ourselves, and start afresh. And this time you’re going to love me heart, body and soul’.


End file.
